Combined ladder and window-scaffold



T. S. CHAMBERLAIN. COMBINED LADDER AND WINDOW SCAFFOLD.

Inventor APPLICATION FILED MAR.1,1916- 1 1 93,872 Patented Aug. 8, 1916.

Witnesses Attorneys COMBINED LADDER AND W'INDOW' -SCAFFOLD.

Application filed March 1, 1916.

To all QUAOZbjt may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS SYLVEST-ER CHAMBERLAIN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Meadville, in the county of Crawford and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Combined Ladder and lVindow-Scaffold, of which thefollowing is a specification.

The present invention is a combined ladder and window scaffold, and aims to provide a novel and improved device which may be employed as a short ladder for various purposes, and which can be mounted upon the outside of a window to enable the outside of the window to be washed or cleaned, or to be painted, or to enable awnings to be hung up conveniently, and the like.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a device of the character indicated which is foldable or collapsible in order that the same can be collapsed into small compass for purpose of compact storage and transpor tation, the device being readily unfolded when it is to be used.

It is also within the scope of the invention to provide a combined ladder and window scaffold having the characteristics above noted, and which at the same time is comparatively simple and inexpensive in con struction, as well as being serviceable, convenient, practical and efiicient in use.

With the foregoing and other objects in View which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed, it being understood that changes in the precise embodiment of the invention herein disclosed can be made within the scope of what is claimed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein Figure 1 is a side elevation of the device used as a window scaffold. Fig. 2 is a front view of the device. Fig. 3 is a top plan view thereof. Fig. .L is an enlarged side elevation of the device in folded or collapsed condition. Figs. 5 and 6 are enlarged sectional details taken on the lines 5-5 and 6-6, respectively, of Fig. 1.

In carrying out the invention, there is employed a ladder 1 of suitable dimensions, and embodying the stiles 2 and rungs 3 secured thereto. This ladder may be constructed of wood or metal whichever is desired, and the Specification of Letters Patent.

PatentedAug. 8, 1916.

Serial No. 81,538.

ladder is preferably tapered so as to diminish in width from its lower'to its upper end. The ladder is divided between its ends to provide upper and lower sections 1 and 5, respectively, which are connected by hinges 6 which allow the sections 4 and 5 to be folded together as illustrated in Fig. 1. When the sections of the ladder are swung into alinement so that their adjacent ends abut, the sections are held in alinement firmly by means of hooks or catches 7 carried by the section 4 and engageable with eyes 8 carried by the section 5. The hinges 6 as well as the hooks 7 and eyes 8 are attached to the stiles of the sections, the hinges being applied at one side of the ladder, and the hooks and eyes at the other side thereof. When the hooks or catches T are engaged with the eyes or keepers 8, the sections of the ladder are held in alinement to prevent the accidental folding of the ladder when in use.

In order to support the ladder upon the outside of a window, a pair of arms 9 con structed of wood or metal are pivoted or hinged to the stiles of the lower section 5 of the ladder between the ends of said section and at the same side of the ladder as the hinges 6. The respective ends of the arms 9 are pivoted by means of screws or other suitable elements 10 between the projecting ends of two pairs of straps or bars 11 which are secured to the opposite sides of the stiles of the ladder, although the arms 9 may be pivoted or hinged to the section 5 in any suitable manner. The arms 9 can be swung downwardly against the section 5 when the device is folded together as illustrated in Fig. 4, and when the arms 9 are swung upwardly at about right angles with the ladder, the pivoted ends of the arms abut against the stiles of the ladder to limit the upward movement of said arms. The arms 9 can project through a window to seat upon the sill for supporting the ladder upon the outside of the window as will hereinafter more fully appear.

The arms 9 are connected to the upper section 4: of the ladder by means of diagonal or oblique rods 12 which have their ends bent angularly, as at 13, and pivotally engaged through the arms 9 and stiles of the upper ladder section 4. The lower angularly extending ends 13 of the rods 12 are engaged to the arms 9 between the ends of said arms, and the upper angularly extending ends of the rods 12 are engaged through the stiles of the upper ladder section 4 adjacent the lower or hinged ends of said stiles. Heads 14 are secured upon the terminals of the rods 12 and seat against the inner sides of the arms 9 and ladder stiles to hold the rods 12 in place, and washers 15 are preferably disposed upon the end portions 13 of the rods between the body portions of the rods 12 and the arms 9 and ladder stiles. The washers 15 reduce the wear between the rods and the arms 9 and ladder. functions, one of which is to brace the ladder when the device is used as a window scaffold, and the other of which is to cause the structure to fold and unfold by a single operation. When the section 4 is swung downwardly against the section 5, the rods 12 are thrust downwardly, thereby swinging the arms 9 downwardly against the lower ladder section 5, and when the ladder sections are swung into alinement, the rods 12 will pull the arms 9 into angular position relative to the lower ladder section 5. The device can thus be folded and unfolded conveniently and with little trouble.

The arms 9 are held or anchored in place by means of hooks 16 secured thereon adjacent their free ends, and a transverse bar 17 which is engaged with the hooks and whose end portions project laterally sufficiently beyond the jambs of the window to which the device is applied, so that the bar can rest against the inner side of the wall of the building.

The device may be used as a short ladder for various purposes, when the ladder sec tions 4 and 5 are swung into alinement and fastened by engaging the hooks 7 with the eyes 8. To use the structure as a window scaffold, the same is inserted outwardly through the opened window from the inside, and the arms 9 are seated upon the sill, in which event the bar 17 is applied to the hooks 16 so as to rest against the inner side of the wall 20 of the building, the window being designated by the numeral 18, and the sill thereof by the numeral 19. The lower end of the ladder will therefore swing and rest against the outer side of the wall 20, thereby holding the ladder in an inclined position upon the outside of the window. Aperson' may then readily pass through the window The rods 12 have two and step onto the ladder upon the outside of the window, so that the window can be cleaned or to enable the window awning to be hung conveniently. The device may be readily applied to and removed from the window, and when not in use can be folded within a small space. When the device is used as a window scaffold, the arms 9 are anchored to the window frame by the bar 17, so that the ladder is prevented from swinging outwardly and downwardly, due to the fact that the lower projecting end of the ladder rests against the wall of the building, and that the rods 12 provide braces between the ladder and arms 9 to resist the outward movement of the ladder.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. A ladder and window scaffold embodying a ladder having upper and lower hinged sections adapted to be folded together, arms hinged to the lower ladder section and adapted to project through a window, and braces terminally pivoted to said arms and the upper ladder section, whereby the arms are swung against the lower ladder section when the ladder sections are folded, and are swung away from the lower ladder section when the ladder sections are swung into alinement.

2. A combined ladder and window scaffold embodying a ladder having upper and lower hinged sections adapted to be swung together, arms pivoted to the lower ladder section between the ends thereof and adapted to project through a window, braces terminally pivoted to said arms and the upper ladder section, means for holding the ladder sections in alinement, and means for anchoring said arms to the window, the braces THOMAS SYLVE STER CHAMBERLAIN.

WVitnesses:

E. WV. MCARTHUR, L. M. RICHMOND.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

